Jeremiah 34

Alright, alright. I try to stay away from politics on the blog, because there is something in me that resists trying to put God into one of our many political boxes. But when I opened the Bible to my chapter for today, I was struck that yet again God is addressing the issue of freedom. This is the sixth time since we began Jeremiah that a blog is about freedom (or the power to choose), and I know there have been many other chapters that contained those issues, but I wrote about something else because I’m trying to provide some variety!

Once again, however, God takes up the cause of freedom: “Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I made a covenant with your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. I said, “Every seventh year each of you must free any fellow Hebrews who have sold themselves to you. After they have served you six years, you must let them go free.” Your ancestors, however, did not listen to me or pay attention to me. Recently you repented and did what is right in my sight: Each of you proclaimed freedom to your own people. You even made a covenant before me in the house that bears my Name. But now you have turned around and profaned my name; each of you has taken back the male and female slaves you had set free to go where they wished. You have forced them to become your slaves again. Therefore this is what the Lord says: You have not obeyed me; you have not proclaimed freedom to your own people. So I now proclaim “freedom” for you, declares the Lord— ”freedom” to fall by the sword, plague and famine. I will make you abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth. Those who have violated my covenant and have not fulfilled the terms of the covenant they made before me, I will treat like the calf they cut in two and then walked between its pieces.’” (vs 12-18)

This is the part of libertarianism that is often left ignored. Giving people the freedom to choose the behavior also gives them the freedom to choose the consequences. And the truth about freedom is that when we abuse it, we lose it.

For instance, when we abuse our sexual freedom in order to experiment with multiple partners, we often lose the true blessing and beauty of sexuality. Let me promise you that in this day and age of unwanted pregnancy, sexually-transmitted diseases, and broken relationships (only made more complicated by sex), the total freedom to explore the gift of sex as created by God with a life-long monogamous partner is invaluable. To be free of past regrets, comparisons with other lovers, fears of sharing diseases… this is true freedom in the sexual realm.

That is just one example. As Paul said, “Since we’re free in the freedom of God, can we do anything that comes to mind? Hardly. You know well enough from your own experience that there are some acts of so-called freedom that destroy freedom. Offer yourselves to sin, for instance, and it’s your last free act. But offer yourselves to the ways of God and the freedom never quits. All your lives you’ve let sin tell you what to do. But thank God you’ve started listening to a new master, one whose commands set you free to live openly in his freedom!” (Rom 6:15-18)

So, while I’m sure there are issues on both the Republican and Democrat agendas that God would support, I would be more apt to put Him in the Libertarian camp. For above all, He is into freedom—giving it, living it, and safeguarding it. He seems to be more concerned with allowing us to have the freedom to disobey Him than He is with making sure we obey.

That’s something that is still hard for me to wrap my mind around.